Conveyer



Oct. 13, 1931. A. o.. WILLIAMS E 'r AL 1,826,853

- coNvEYER Filed may 15, 1931 2 sheets-sheet 1 A. O. WILLIAMS ET AL CONVEYER n. 2 t M ywf @ai d d 2 W@ g Patented oet. 13, 1931 v UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE ALFRED O. WILLIAMS AND WILLIAIIYlI-L.v DAVIS, F BATTLE CREEK, -MICHIGAN, y.AS- y SIGNORS TO CLARK TRUCTRACTOR COMPANY, 0F BUCHANAN, MICHIGAN, A

PORATION OIE MICHIGAN CONVEYIER Application mea my 15, 1931. sei-m1 No. 537,514.

This invention relates to conveying means, Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view of and more particularly to a conveyer com-,-

prising aplurality of driven shafts provided with means for propelling along the shafts during rotating thereof, articles placed upon such shafts.

In the patent to John J. Armstrong and Robert F. Woodford, issued December 8, 1925, No. 1,564,926, there is disclosed a screw conveyer comprising threaded shafts for propelling therealong articles upon such shafts during rotationthereof, and a driving unit for rotating the shafts in .opposite relation..

This conveyer is portable sov as to be moved readily from one scene of operation to another. It is frequently necessary to Ahandle' articles which are disposed laterally of the general direction of feed f the conveyer..

Our invention has to do more particularly with means for permitting of lateral bending of the conveyer for disposing the receiving end thereof adjacent articles at either side of the main portion of the conveyer.

' One of the main objects of our invention is to provide a conveyer ofthe character stated which is of comparativelyl simple 'and inexv pensive construction and is capable of lateral flexing 1n such manner as to obvlate the neces- -sity of employing a supplemental conveyer for delivering tothe main conveyer articles disposed to either side of the latter. Afurther object is to provide means for facilitating lateral bending of the'conveyer while maintaining the roper'relation between the shafts thereof. Ift is also an object of our invention to provide a conveyer so vconstructed that it is capable of both lateral andvertical flexing or bending. lFurther objects and advantages ofl our inventionv the detailed description.

" .Tn the drawings: z

Figure 1 is a perspective side vview of a con. veyer constructed inaccordancewith our in .vention, in y use;

j Figure 2 is asection taken substantially on line 2 2 of Figurey 3,- lparts Abeing shown `in elevation; f* I y appear `fromr Figure 31s a fragmentaryplanview of th/f' conveyer. with they partsrthereoff isposed' for transporting'artiles in a straight 111e;rv y

tshaft drivin lconnection with` collar-3, as -by means posed in endwise relation. Preferably, these sections are of tubular construction, as in Figures'2 and 5. The sections of each shaft are suitably supported `at the ends thereof,

and the adjacent ends of the sections are connected together by'a driving co nection which is laterally flexible and telesccxfpes one of the shaft sections so as to permit of relathe driving connection between the shaft sect1ons includes a universal joint whereby the sectlons are capable of relatlve vertical movement as well as yrelative lateral movement.

The conveyer thus constructed comprises a yplurality of sections capable of both relative lateral movement and relative vertical movementl while maintaining the drive between the sections of'y the respective shafts.- `Each of the'sh'aft sections 1 is provided with an tive lateral movement thereof. Preferably,

element 2 secured helically about the same and constituting a thread forgthe shaft section. The threads of the two shafts are oppositely related and the shafts are driven 1n opposite and proper directions for propelling along the shafts, by means of the threafds 2, articles placed thereon.- Q For ropelling the shafts'y we prefer to employ tlrie disclosed in the copending app 'cation of Alfred O.'Wil1ian'1s, for conveyer, filed Sep Y tember 26, 1930, Serial No. 484,546. The

shafts may, however, be driven in any other Vsuitable ory 'preferred manner.

Each s ha'ft sectionlfis provided, adjacent one end thereof, with a 'collar 3 suitably secured'within the .shaft section, as by weldj ing, or inany other suitablelmanner. 'A' bearing s'leeve 4,` carried by an upright 5, extends into the end of theshaft section to within a v ower unit short 'nce of collar 3, This' sleevel rev r bearings l6 which support a stub e innerfend portion, of which has f a-f' 8 formed. integrally yvith theshaft and projecting into a corresponding groove stub shaft 7 is` provided with a head 9 rotatably mounted i a bushing 10 suitably secured in sleeve 4. The outer end of stub shaft 7 is connected by a universal-joint 11, Aof known type, to the outer end of a stub shaft 12 which projects into arelatively long sleeve 13 which ts snuglyk into the end of the next adjacent shaft section 1 and is slidable therein. Each of the shaft sections 1 is providedat one end thereof with -a collar 3 and associate parts and at the other end thereof with a sleeve 13 and associated parts. The sleeve 13 has ,driving connection with its associated shaft section-1 by means of a pin 14 secured through suchshaft section di-l ametrically thereof and passing through slots 15 in the sleeve, this sleeve preferably being provided with reenforcing elements 16 extending about and defining such slots. Stub shaft 12 is provided, at its inner end, with a head 17 connected to the body portion of the shaft by a reducedl neck 18. `Lugs 19 project radially from neck 18fat diametrically opposite points thereof. l'llhese lugs lare insertable through slots 2O extending through a shoulder 21 which projects inwardly of sleeve 13 adjacent the outer end thereof. ln coupling together the shaft sections, stub shaft12 is inserted into sleeve 13, as in Figure 2. Assuming that the driving unit 'is to the left as considered in Figure 2, land that the conveyer shafty is driven in a clockwise direction as 'considered in Figure 5, the lugs 19 contact lugs 22 so as to drive the shaft section in which the sleeve- 13 is mounted. In this manner, driving connection is established betweenthe successive sections of the respective shafts and,I as above pointed out, this connection is laterally flexible and telescopic so that the shaft sections, and consequently the sections of the conveyer, are capable of relative lateral movement.

Each of the uprights 5 is provided with a downwardly extending .shank 5a which ts' through alined openings in web elements 23 and 24 of a supporting mernber25 of approximately elongatedinverted U-shape. Preferably, this member is supported by rollers 26 suitably mounted at the ends of member` 25.

The uprights 5 are thus mounted upon the supporting member 25 for relative .turning movement and constitute-therewith supporting structures-which, in conjunction with the driving connections, support the adjacent ends of the shaft sections. Conveniently each of the supports isprovided with a plurality'ofl openings 27 for reception of the rShanks of ,the uprights 5to permit of adjustment of the conveyer shafts toward andaway from each other to suit the articles being handled. lt will be noted that the supporting structures -serve to support the shafts in predetermined spaced relation and to maintain correspond- Leaaase l ing sections of the shafts in parallel relation; in the collar 3. Adjacent its outer end the Each of the supports 25 is provided, at the front and the back thereof, with a lug 28 which is disposed at the transverse center of t-he support, this lug'being vertically slotted. The lugs 28 receive the end portions'of spacing members 29. Preferably, these members are in the form of flat steel strips which possess appreciable rigidity but are inherently resilient. These strips are set on edge, with the end portions thereof fitting into the slotsI of lugs 28. These lugs are slotted from their upper edges, at 30, to accommodate securing bolts or pins 31 which pass through the spacing strips or rods 29, these bolts havin-g associated therewith nuts 32 for securing the spacing members 29 toI the lugs 28. Byv

slightly loosening the nuts 32, the lspacing members 29 canbe moved upwardly out of the lugs 28 with facility, this construction being advantageous as facilitating removal and replacement of the members 29. If pins are used instead of bolts, which is considered feasible, the spacing members 29 can be moved upwardly and out without the necessity of loosening bolts.

In Figure l of the drawings we have illusl trated our conveyer as being used for I emoving articles such as bags B of material from a box car C disposed adjacent a receiving platform P, the conveyer 'extending through the door .opening O of the car and being in part supported by a gang plank G vextending between the car and the platform.

. The general direction of the main portion of j the conveyer is approximately at right angles to the length of the car. ln vorder that the articles may be placed upon the conveyer with facility, the end portion thereof extending into the car is bent into an arc so as to dispose the receiving end of the conveyer closely ,adjacent the articles to be handled, as illustrated. This bending of the conveyer later-v ally is permitted by the laterally flexible and telescopic driving connections between the sections of the conveyer shaft. Under ordinary conditions, the main portion of the conveyer isl straight, as in Figure 3. When the conveyer is bent laterally, the spacing rods or strips 29 which connect the supports V25 are flexed or bowed laterally and each of the supports 25 -is turned slightly about its central vertical axis a so as to be disposed at a slight inclination across the conveyor. rlhis turning movement of the support is such that the longitudinal axis thereof,- indicated by the line 'cz-e bisects the angle d a f formed by the intersecting lines da and af parallel to l.the shaft sections of the adjacent sections of rlhis is shown in Figure 4, 'Y

the conveyer. in which anglel dac is equal to angle fae. This movement of the support is due to the provision ofthe spacing rods or strips 29 which are preferably formed of spring steel and. possess sufficient rigidity to impart turning movement to the supports in the manner set forth, while. being readily flexible laterally. Due to this turning movement of the supports, when a s ected portion of the conveyer is turned to either side, such port-ion is disposed in the form of an arc or a regular curve, the longitudinal axis of the supports of this portion of the conveyer being disposed on radii extending from a common center with which the curved portion of theconveyer is concentric. In curving the conveyer laterally i this manner, the shaft sections at the inner eide of the curve are shortened, the sections at the outer side of the curve being increased in length, as in Figure 4. This ad just-ment or 'variation in length of the shaft sections is accommodated by the telescopic driving connections previously referred to. Also, since the connections between the shaft sections include universal joints, such sections have relative vertical movement. This verti?. cal movement between the sections is possible when the conveyer is curved as above described a-nd as illustrated in Figure 1, since the spacing rods 29 are then arched laterally and are capable of a certain amount of transverse twisting -movement to accommodatie relative vertical movement of the conveyer sections. It is frequently. desirable, for convenience in-loading, to thus raise slightly. the last section of the conveyer, as in Figure 1. In this ligure, the 'outer or rearward ends of the last shaft sections are not shown, but it '-will be understood that such ends of these sect-ions are mounted upon a supporting structure in the same manner las the other sections are mounted, this ysupportingstructure being conveniently supported in a raised position upon one or more of the bags B If be omitted. 5

it `is] desired to dispose the receiving section of the conveyer at a considerable upward'and rearward inclination; ,the spacing. rod .or strip 29 between the two last supports may After the articleshave beenremoved from one end of the car, and it vis desired to re-4 move articles'from the other end thereof, the

' conveyer'as a whole is slid outwardly through the door opening O of the car; a suicient disi' tance to permit of'the end portion thereof being swung toward the other side, after which the conveyer ismoved back'into'the car, the ortion of the conveyer which is inA the car eing then vcurvedonan arc as in Figure 1 but oppositely thereto. Under ordinary conditions, the-spacing members 29 are not used' throughout the entire. length of the conveyer, though they may be if desired, 'butv are usually-applied only at such portion fof. the Iconveyer vas .it `may be found desirable" to shift for' bend." laterally. Also, under certain-v conditions the spacing members may be omitted, though we prefer to employ such members 1 as assuring proper dispositionofp-the supports relative tothe conveyer sections scribed, two driven4 shafts provided with means to contact articles p laced upon the shafts and propel such articles along the shafts during rotation thereof, and means for supporting the shafts and for holding. them in predeterminedspaced relation, the shafts vbeing of flexible and telescopic construction for permitting lateral movement of a selected portion of the conveyer relative to the remainder thereof while maintaining the driveof the shafts. f

3. In conveyermeans of the character described, two driven shafts provided with means't'o contact articles placed upon the'l shafts: and propel such articles along the shafts during rotation thereof, each shaft including a plurality of sections disposed in endwise relation, andlaterally flexible and telescopic driving connections between. the

' adjacent ends of the sections of the respective shafts and permitting relative lateral movement between the sections of the conveyer while maintaining drivingconnections between the shaft sections.

et. In yconveyer means of the character described, two driven shafts provided with means to contact. articles placed upon the i' shafts and propel such articles along the'v lshafts during rotation thereof, each shaft including 'a plurality of sections disposed in endwise relation, means for supporting the shaft sections and for holding them in predetermined 4s paced relation, and laterally flexible and'telescopic driving connections between the adjacent ends ofthe sections of 'the respective shafts and permitting relative lateral-movementv between the sections of the conveyer while maintaining driving connections between the shaft sections.

5.` In conveyer means of the character de scribed, two driven shafts provided with means'ftofcontact articles'placed upon the f. shafts and propel .such articles along the shafts during-rotation thereof, each shaftl ineluding a plurality of sections disposed in endwise relation,^m`eans for supporting the shaft sections and forholding them in pre determined spaced relation, and universal and telescopic driving connections between the adjacent ends ofthe sections of the relll izo

spective shafts permitting relative' movement between the sections of the conveyer both vertically and laterally while maintainlng driving connections between the;I shaft sections.

6. :fn conveyer meansA of the character described, two driven shafts provided with means to contact articles placed upon the shafts and vpropel such articles along the shafts during rotation thereof, each shaft includmg a plurality of sections disposed in endwise relation,spaced supporting structures supporting the shaft sections and holdlng them in predetermined spaced relation, resilient spacing means connecting said structures, and laterally flexible.' and telescopic drlving connections between the adjacalntft ends of the sections of the respective s a s.

7. ln conveyer` means of the character described, two driven" shafts provided with means to contact articles placed 'upon the shafts and propel such articles along the shafts during rotation thereof, each shaft'including a plurality of sections disposed inl endwise relation, spaced supporting structures supporting the shaft sections and holdlng them in predetermined spaced relation, reslhent spacing means connecting said structures, and universal and telescopic drlvlng connections between the adjacent ends of the sections of the respective shafts.

8. In a conveyer means of the character y described, two-driven shafts provided 'with means to contact articles placed upon the shafts and propel such articles along the shafts during rotation thereof, each shaft including a plurality of sections disposed in f endwise relation, spaced supporting structures supporting the shaft sections and holdmg them 4in predetermined spaced relation, resilient spacing rods connecting said structures at the transverse centers thereof, andp laterally ,flexible and telescopic driving connections between the adjacent ends of the sections of the respective shafts.,

9. In conveyer means of the character described, two driven shafts provided with means to contact articles placed upon the shafts and propel suchv articles along the shafts during rotation thereof, each shaft including a plurality of sections disposed in endwise relation, spaced supporting structures supporting the shaft sections and holding them in predetermined spaced relation, resilientspacing rods connecting said structures at the transverse centers thereof, and universal and telescopic driving connections between the.' adjacent ends of the sections of the respectivejshafts.

10. ln conveyer means of the character described, two driven shafts provided with means to contact articles placedupon the shafts and propel such articles along the shafts during rotation thereof, each shaft inaeaaees cluding a plurality of sections disposed in endwise relation, wheel mounted and spaced.

shafts durin'grotation thereof, eachshaft cluding a plurality of sections disposed in endwise relation, spaced supporting structures supporting the shaftv sections and hold-y ing them in predetermined spaced relation, flexible spacing means connecting said structures at the transverse centers thereof, and laterally flexible and telescopic driving connections between the adjacent ends of the" sections of the respective shafts.

12. In conveyer means of the character described, two. driven shafts provided with means tocontact articles placed (alpen the shafts and propel suchv articles .alongl the shafts lduring rotation thereof, each shaft.` including a plurality of sections disposedA in endwise relation,"supporting structures supporting the shaft sections at the ends thereof and holding them in predetermined spaced relation, resilient and laterally flexible spacing members of appreciable rigidity connecting they supporting structures at the transverse centers thereof, and laterally flexible andtelescopic driving connections between the adjacent ends of the sections of the respective shafts. 7

13. ln conveyer means of the character deics scribed, two driven shafts provided with means to contact articles placed upon the shafts and propel such articles along the shafts during rotationV thereof, each shaft including a plurality -of sections disposed in endwise relation,supporting structures supporting the shaft sections at the ends thereof nections between the adjacent ends of the.

sectionsof the respective shafts.

'14. l conveyer means of the character described, two driven shaftsl provided with means disposed to contactarticles placed thereon andpropel-them along the shafts during rotation thereof, each shaft including a plurality of sections disposed in' endwise relation, supports at the ends of the shaft sections, uprights mounted for turnin movement in the supports and each provi ed with means for rotatably supporting one of the adjacent shaft sections at the end thereof, and laterally flexible and telescopic driving connections between each of the'shaft sections supported by the uprights and the end of the next adjacent shaft section,said connections also supporting the end of said next adjacent shaft section.

15. In conveyer means of the character described, two driven shafts provided with means disposed to contact articles placed the sleeve.

thereon and propel them along the shafts during rotation thereof, each shaft including a plurality of sections disposed in endwise relation, supports at the ends of the shaft sections, uprights mounted for turning movement in the supports and each provided with means for rotatably supporting one of the adjacent shaft` sections at the end thereof, laterally flexible and telescopic driving connections between each of theshaft sections supported by the uprights and the end of the next adjacent shaft section, said connections also supporting the endof said next adjacent shaft section,'and resilient spacing members of appreciable rigidity connecting the supports at the transverse centersthereof.

.- 16. In conve er Ameans of the character described, two riven shafts provided with means disposed to contact articles placed thereon and propel them along the shafts during rotation thereof, each shaft including a plurality of sections disposed in endwise relation, means for rotatably supporting the ends of adjacent shaft sections, said supporting means having turning movement relative to the supports and including laterally iexible and telescopic driving connections between the adjacent shaft section ends, and laterally iexible resilient spacing members of appreciable rigidity connecting the supports at the transverse centers thereof.

17. In conveyer means of the character described, two driven shafts provided with means disposed to Contact articles placed thereon and propel them along the shafts during rotation thereof, each shaft including a.

plurality of sections disposed in endwise relation, and driving connections between the adjacent ends of the shaft sections, said connections including two universally connected members extending into the ends of the shaft sections, and having driving connection therewith, one of said members telescoping its associated shaft section.

18. In conveyer means of the character described, two driven shafts provided with means disposed to contact articles placed thereon and propel them along the shafts during rotation thereof, each shaft including a plurality of sections disposed in endwise res 

